Shelby County homeownership dropped for 2009-2015

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Recent data shows that homeownership has decreased between 2009 and 2015, which indicates that owning one’s own home is becoming less grounded in American life. Specifically for Shelby County, there has been a decrease in homeownership across all age groups below 60.

The information was produced by Gavop.com, which analyzed long-term housing prices and real estate trends at the county level across the United States, using numbers from the Census Bureau.

In Shelby County, the highest decrease in homeownership was from individuals under 35 years old, where ownership reduced by 30.4 percent. Homeownership decreased by 24.2 percent for people 35-44 and by 6.9 percent for ages 45-59. There was, however, an increase of 16.1 percent for residents 60 and older.

The numbers illustrate how Shelby County is following the general trend in the U.S. of a decline in homeownership, especially among young adults. Categorically, Shelby County had a greater decrease in homeownership than state and national values for all age groups.

Such a decrease in homeownership shows that Shelby County is experiencing interesting market trends where individuals are not obtaining ownership of their home until later in life. The reduction indicates that adults are either choosing to not purchase their homes or are having trouble doing so as compared to the past.

The nationwide decline in homeownership is partially linked to the recession, where the economic downturn forced young people to move back home in order to save money; therefore, adults under 35 are the most impacted age group in the country. Those impacted the second most are people aged 35-44 who are in the prime age group to purchase their first home. In contrast, older Americans aged 60 and up have seen a rise in homeownership.

Further research indicates that the drop in homeownership comes with financial costs to residents. By renting homes, people miss out on low mortgage rates and are faced with an increase in rent. Because of this trend, people who are able to invest in real estate are benefiting from the situation.

KEVIN PRYOR is an analyst for Gavop.com and can be reached at (203) 518-2348 or by email at kevin@gridlex.com. Gavop.com is a real estate, housing, and local data analytics service.